The game of basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 to provide off-season exercise for baseball and football players. Dr. Naismith climbed a ladder and hammered a bottomless peach basket to a balcony as the first basketball goal. The game of basketball rapidly gained popularity and is now one of the most widely played games in the United States and the rest of the world.
The bottomless peach basket nailed to a balcony has long since been replaced by a goal consisting of a backboard (also known as a backstop) and a rim. The goal typically also includes a net attached to the rim that provides a visual aid in shooting the basketball and slows the basketball as it passes through the rim. The goal is mounted so the top of the rim is the desired height above the floor of the basketball court. The standard height of the rim is ten feet.
Basketball goals located outside are typically mounted on a pole. Basketball goals located in gymnasiums are typically mounted onto a wall or suspended from above. Basketball goals located in large, multiple-use arenas are typically part of a movable structure. These basketball goals typically include a weighted base, a plurality of wheels, and an arm that supports the backboard. The arm typically has a lowered position for transport and storage and a raised position for playing. These goals are rolled into position in the lowered position and then anchored to the floor with straps or chains. The backboard is then raised into the playing position. Schroeder et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,163, Apr. 19, 2003, discloses such a basketball goal.
Movable basketball goals must be precisely positioned on the basketball court. A common way of locating the goal is to place tape, pins, indentations, or the like on or into the floor as a guide. These guides do not completely orient the goal in position and do not facilitate precise positioning of the goal.
Accordingly, there is a demand for an improved apparatus for positioning a movable basketball goal on a basketball court.